What it costs to import and register a car in Portugal

Updated 25 October 2026 · Legaliza na Hora

What our service costs

Each registration package covers our work, the national approval request, the DAV, the applicable IMT fee, initial ownership registration, signature certification and sending the registration certificate to your address. For the service price list on its own, see prices for registering a foreign car.

What you pay on top, and to whom

So the honest answer to "how much does it cost" is: our fixed price, plus ISV, plus €93.52, plus whatever transport and a missing COC cost in your case. ISV is the item that moves the total most, and it is the one nobody can quote without the car’s data.

How to put a number on the ISV before you buy

ISV has two components, engine capacity and CO2 emissions, added together. A used car with a previous registration in another EU country gets a reduction for age, up to 80% once the car is more than ten years old, counted from first registration to the date of the DAV. Cars from outside the EU get no age reduction. Fully electric cars pay no ISV.

To calculate it we need six things: the date of first registration, engine capacity in cm3, fuel, CO2 in g/km, the measurement standard (NEDC or WLTP) and, for diesel, the particulate emissions if the COC shows them. All of it is on the foreign registration document and the COC. Send us a photograph before you buy and we will calculate it. Read how ISV is calculated, or use the ISV simulator, currently in Portuguese.

A real case, with the real numbers

One published case on this site is an Audi RS 3 for a client from Leiria: ISV assessed at €6,377.98, and the registration number issued in 11 hours and 36 minutes once everything was in place. It is a high-emission performance car, which is why the tax is large. It is also a useful illustration of the shape of the bill: the tax was roughly nineteen times our fee. Read the real cases, in Portuguese. We publish it as a record of what happened in that file, not as a timetable we promise.

Why an imported used car can still be cheaper

A car sold new in Portugal paid ISV in full, and that tax is embedded in the price of Portuguese used cars. An imported used car from the EU pays a reduced ISV. On a 2020 BMW 320d the difference in ISV works out at €4,045.09. That gap is the whole economic case for importing, and it is why the arithmetic has to be done before you buy rather than after.

Three mistakes that cost real money

• Calculating the ISV after buying the car. By then the number is not a decision, it is a bill.
• Using the date of manufacture instead of the date of first registration. The age reduction is counted from first registration.
• Taking the CO2 figure from another version of the same model, or mixing up NEDC and WLTP values. WLTP figures are generally higher and the applicable tables can differ.

What is not included, stated plainly

• ISV, and for non-EU cars customs duty and import VAT.
• The type B inspection, €93.52, paid at the centre.
• A missing certificate of conformity, priced by make.
• Transport, shipping and insurance.
• Number plates, optional at €35.
• IUC, the annual road tax, which starts after registration.

We tell you the total for your case before any work starts. If the certificate of conformity is missing, we tell you its price beforehand too.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources: Autoridade Tributária, ISV and VAT on vehicles. Our prices include VAT and are the brand’s approved prices. State charges and the inspection fee are set by third parties.